Vehicle

ABSTRACT

The vehicle with right and left front seats, a cargo bed located behind the right and left front seats, a guide rail located on the cargo bed, and a rear seat with a seat frame connected to the guide rail and slidable in the front-rear direction along the guide rail. This structure enables the cargo bed to have a sufficient capacity while preventing the vehicle body from increasing in size, and secures freedom in the shape of the rear seat.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

The present application claims priority from U.S. provisional patentapplication 62/434,419 filed on Dec. 15, 2016, the content of which ishereby incorporated by reference into this application.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present specification relates to technologies of four-wheelvehicles.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Some vehicles frequently used in rough terrain include right and leftfront seats, right and left rear seats, and a cargo bed located rearwardof the right and left rear seats. U.S. Pat. No. 8,353,534 discloses avehicle including rear seats that can fold in the forward direction. Asthe rear seat is folded forward, the rear surface of the seat back (rearsurface of a portion for supporting the rider's back) of the rear seatbecomes the floor of the cargo bed. According to U.S. Pat. No.8,353,534, folding the rear seats forward increases the capacity of thecargo bed.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The structure that allows the rear seats to be folded forward asdescribed in U.S. Pat. No. 8,353,534 requires the seat back to be formedin a rectangular shape in order to employ the seat back as the floor ofthe cargo bed and thus has a significant restriction on the shape of therear seat.

An object of the present disclosure is to provide a vehicle that enablesthe cargo bed to have a sufficient capacity while preventing the vehiclebody from increasing in size and securing freedom of the shape of therear seat.

(1) An embodiment of a vehicle according to the present disclosurecomprises: right and left front wheels; right and left rear wheels; abody frame; right and left front seats mounted on the body frame; acargo bed located rearward of the right and left front seats; a guiderail disposed on the cargo bed; and a rear seat including a seat framethat is attached on the guide rail and is slidable in a front-reardirection along the guide rail. This embodiment enables the cargo bed tohave a sufficient capacity while preventing the vehicle body fromincreasing in size and securing freedom of the shape of the rear seat.

(2) In the embodiment described in (1), the rear seat may include a seatbottom positioned at a bottom of the rear seat and a seat back locatedon a rear side of the seat bottom, and at least the seat back may befixed to the seat frame and slidable in the front-rear direction.

(3) In the embodiment described in (2), the seat bottom may be movableindependently of the seat back. This structure enables the seat back tohave an increased movable range.

(4) In the embodiment described in (3), the seat bottom may be movableto a laid position at which the seat bottom allows a rider to sitthereon; and the seat bottom may tee movable to a increased movablerange.

(5) In the embodiment described in (4), when the seat bottom is at thestanding position, a seat surface of the seat bottom may face forward.This structure prevents cargo placed in the cargo bed from being incontact with the seat surface of the seat bottom.

(6) In the embodiment described in (1), the rear seat may include a seatbottom positioned at a bottom of the rear seat and a seat back locatedon a rear side of the seat bottom, and the seat bottom may be located ina space defined forward of the cargo bed in a state where the rear seatdoes not allow a rider to sit thereon. This structure enables the seatback to have an increased movable range.

(7) In the embodiment described in (3), the seat bottom may be movablearound a pivot shaft so that the seat bottom may be placed in the laidposition or the standing position. With this structure, the movement ofthe seat bottom can be easily made.

(8) In the embodiment described in (7), the pivot shaft may be locatedat a front end of the cargo bed. This structure increases the movablerange of the seat back.

(9) In the embodiment described in (3), when the seat bottom is in alaid position allowing a rider to sit thereon, the seat bottom may belocated on the guide rail. This structure increases the support strengthfor the seat bottom.

(10) In the embodiment described in (2), the seat back may include aback rest portion which is a lower portion of the seat back forsupporting a rider's back, and a head rest portion which is an upperportion of the seat back for supporting the rider's head, and both ofthe head rest portion and the back rest portion may be integrallymovable in the front-rear direction along the guide rail.

(11) In the embodiment described in (1), the rear seat may be movable toa first state in which the rear seat allows a rider to sit thereon andto a second state in which the rear seat does not allow the rider to sitthereon, and when an area in which the seat bottom is located when therear seat is in the first state is defined as a seat bottom area, atleast a part of the seat back may be located in a front part of the seatbottom area in a state where the rear seat is in the second state of therear seat. This structure enables the cargo bed to have a sufficientarea for loading cargo when the rear seat is in the second state.

(12) in the embodiment described in (1), the rear seat may include aseat bottom position at a bottom of the rear seat and a seat backlocated on a rear side of the seat bottom, and a cross portion may belocated behind the seat back. With this structure, the seat back may besupported by the cross portion when the seat back is in the usablestate.

(13) In the embodiment described in (12), the rear seat may be providedwith a seat belt mechanism which includes a belt. A guide anchor thatguides the belt is attached to the cross portion. This structureeliminates necessity for a dedicated member that supports the guideanchor.

(14) In the embodiment described in (1), the rear seat may be providedwith a seat belt mechanism including a belt, a joint provided to thebelt, and a buckle for the joint to be connected. The cargo bed may havean accommodating portion that accommodates the buckle. This structureprevents the buckle from being an obstacle to cargo placed on the cargobed.

(15) In the embodiment described in (14), the accommodating portion maybe concave, and the cargo bed may include a lid for closing theaccommodating portion. This structure prevents the buckle from being anobstacle to cargo placed on the cargo bed when the rear seat is in theunusable state.

(16) In the embodiment described in (1), the cargo bed may include acargo bed floor that has a convex portion and a concave portion, eachextending in the front-rear direction, and the guide rail may fit intothe concave portion or the convex portion. This structure increases therigidity of the cargo bed floor. Further, this structure prevents theguide rail from being an obstacle to cargo placed in the cargo bed.

(17) In the embodiment described in (14), the concave portion and theconvex portion extend rearward beyond the guide rail. This structureincreases the rigidity of the rear part of the cargo bed.

(18) The embodiment described in (1) may further comprise a roll cagecovering the front seats and the rear seat. The roll cage may include aportion located further rearward than the rear seat.

(19) In the embodiment described in (18), the cargo bed may include aportion located further rearward than the portion of the roll cage.

Other objects and features of this invention will be in part apparentand in part point pointed out hereinafter.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The following drawings illustrate examples of various components of theinvention disclosed herein, and are for illustrative purposes only.

FIG. 1 is a side view showing an example of a vehicle of an embodimentaccording to the present disclosure.

FIG. 2 is a rear view of the vehicle.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing the vehicle frame of the vehicleobliquely viewed from the rear of the vehicle.

FIG. 4 is a side view of the vehicle frame of the vehicle.

FIG. 5A is a perspective view of a lower frame (main body frame)constituting the vehicle frame.

FIG. 5B is a perspective view of an upper frame (roll cage) constitutingthe vehicle frame.

FIG. 6 is a side view of the rear seat. In this figure the rear seat isin a usable state.

FIG. 7 is a plan view of the cargo bed provided in the rear portion ofthe vehicle body. In this figure, the rear seats are in the usablestate.

FIG. 8 is a perspective view showing a structure of the rear seat. Inthis figure, the seat bottom is arranged in a standing posture.

FIG. 9 is a plan view of a frame rear portion constituting the rear partof the lower frame.

FIG. 10 is a plan view of the cargo bed. In this figure, the rear seatsare arranged in an unusable state.

FIG. 11 is a side view of the rear seat. In this figure, the rear seatis in an unusable state.

FIG. 12 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line XII-XII indicatedin FIG. 7.

FIG. 13 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line XIII-XIIIindicated in FIG. 10.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

While the present invention may be embodied in many different forms,several illustrative embodiments are described herein with theunderstanding that this disclosure is to be considered as providingexamples of the principles of the invention and such examples are notintended to limit the invention to the preferred embodiments describedherein and/or illustrated herein.

Hereinafter, embodiments according to the present invention will bedescribed. The embodiments disclosed in the present specification shouldbe understood as an example of the invention and the invention is notlimited to embodiments described in the following description and in thefigures. Other embodiments having advantages that is the same as, orsimilar to, advantages of the present embodiments are included withinthe scope of the present invention.

Various techniques and structures are described in this specification.Those may be combined with other techniques and structures describedherein. Though the present specification does not describe all possiblecombinations, any combinations are within the scope of the presentinvention.

Unless otherwise defined, all terms used herein have the same meaning ascommonly understood by one having ordinary skill in the art to whichthis invention belongs. It will be further understood that terms, suchas those defined in commonly used dictionaries, should be interpreted ashaving a meaning that is consistent with their meaning in the context ofthe relevant art and the present disclosure and will not be interpretedin an idealized or overly formal sense unless expressly so definedherein. The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describingparticular preferred embodiments only and is not intended to be limitingof the present invention. As used herein, the term “and/or” includes anyand all combinations of one or more of the associated listed items. Asused herein, the singular forms “a,” “an,” and “the” are intended toinclude the plural forms as well as the singular forms, unless thecontext clearly indicates otherwise. It will be further understood thatthe terms “comprises” “comprising” “includes” and “including” when usedin this specification, specify the presence of stated features,operations, elements, and/or components, but do not preclude thepresence or addition of one or more other features, operations,elements, components, and/or groups thereof.

FIG. 1 is a side view of a vehicle 1 which is an example of theembodiments of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a rear view of thevehicle 1. FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing the vehicle 1 obliquelyviewed from the rear. FIG. 4 is a side view of the vehicle frame Fv ofthe vehicle 1. FIG. 5A is a perspective view of the lower frame 20constituting a part of the vehicle frame Fv. FIG. 5B is a perspectiveview of an upper frame (roll cage) 30 constituting a part of the vehicleframe Fv. FIG. 6 is a side view of the rear seat 50, and FIG. 7 is aplan view of the cargo bed 40 provided in the rear portion of thevehicle body. In FIGS. 6 and 7, the rear seat 50 is in an “usablestate”, described later. FIG. 8 is a perspective view showing astructure of the rear seat 50. In FIG. 8, the seat bottom 52 is arrangedat the standing position. FIG. 9 is a plan view of the frame rearportion 20R constituting the rear portion of the lower frame 20. FIG. 10is a plan view of the cargo bed 40, and FIG. 11 is a side view of therear seat 50. In FIGS. 10 and 11, the rear seat 50 is arranged in an“unusable state” described later.

In the following description, the directions indicated by Y1 and Y2 inthose figures will be referred to as a “forward direction” and a“rearward direction”, respectively. The directions indicated by Z1 andZ2 are referred to as an “upward direction” and a “downward direction”,respectively. The directions indicated by X1 and X2 are referred to as a“rightward direction” and a “leftward direction”, respectively.

[Outline of Vehicle]

The vehicle 1 is a vehicle that is suitable for use on rough terrain andis refereed to as an all terrain vehicle (ATV), a “Side-by-Sidevehicle”, an “Utility vehicle”, and a “Recreational Off-Highwayvehicle”. As shown in FIG. 3, the vehicle 1 includes right and leftfront wheels 2 and right and left rear wheels 3. The vehicle 1 includesright and left front seats 4. A steering wheel 6 for steering the frontwheels 2 is located ahead of the left front seat 4 on the left side. Thevehicle 1 further includes right and left rear seats 50 located rearwardof the front seats 4 and a cargo bed 40 also located rearward of thefront seats 4. As will be explained in detail later, the rear seats 50in the example of the vehicle 1, are mounted on the cargo bed 40.

An engine unit 7 (see FIG. 4) including an engine and a transmission isdisposed in an almost middle portion of the vehicle body in thefront-rear direction. The power of the engine unit 7 is transmitted toboth the front wheels 2 and the rear wheels 3, or to one of the frontwheels 2 and the rear wheels 3 through a drive shaft, (not shown). Inthe example of the vehicle 1, the engine unit 7 is located between theright and left front seats 4. In the example of the vehicle 1, theengine unit 7 is located ahead of the cargo bed 40 (in other words, therear portion 20R of the vehicle frame Fv to be described later). Thearrangement of the engine unit 7 is not limited to the example of thevehicle 1.

[Vehicle Frame]

The vehicle 1 includes a vehicle frame Fv. As shown in FIG. 4, thevehicle frame Fv includes a lower frame 20 on which the seats 4, 50 andthe engine unit 7 are mounted. The vehicle frame Fv also includes and anupper frame 30 covering the seats 4 and 50. The lower frame 20 will behereinafter referred to as a “main body frame”. The upper frame 30 willbe referred to as a “roll cage”. The main body frame 20 and the rollcage 30 are separately formed and connected to each other in thevertical direction by fixing means such as welding or bolts. That is,the main body frame 20 includes a plurality of constituent elements (forexample, pipes) each of which is integrally made of a metal. The rollcage 30 includes a plurality of constituent elements (for example, 20pipes) made of a metal separately from the constituent elements of themain body frame 20. The constituent elements of the main body frame 20and the constituent elements of the roll cage 30 are connected to eachother by fixing means such as welding or bolts. Note that the phrase“the upper frame 30 covers the seats 4 and 50” means that at least apart of the upper frame 30 is positioned above the seats 4 and 50 in aside view, and thus, the upper frame 30 may not overlap with the seats 4and 50 in a planar view.

[Main Body Frame]

As shown in FIG. 4, the main body frame 20 includes a frame frontportion 20F located between the right and left front wheels 2. The framefront portion 20F supports the front wheels 2 through a suspension 8(see FIG. 1) and through arms (not shown) extending in the right-leftdirection. The main body frame 20 also includes a frame rear portion 20Rlocated between the right and left rear wheels 3. The frame rear portion20R also supports the rear wheels 3 through a suspension (not shown) andthrough arms (not shown) extending in the right-left direction. A cargobed frame 20C that is a frame of the cargo bed 40 to be described lateris formed on the upper side of the frame rear portion 20R. The cargo bedframe 20C protrudes rearward from the frame rear portion 20R. The mainbody frame 20 includes a frame middle portion 20M located between theframe front portion 20F and the frame rear portion 20R. The frame middleportion 20M has the engine unit 7 and the front seats 4 mounted thereon.

As shown in FIG. 5A, in the example of the vehicle 1, the frame middleportion 20M includes extending portions 21 on its right and leftportions. The extending portion 21 includes, in the middle frame portion20M, a middle portion 21B extending in the front-rear direction, a frontvertical portion 21A extending obliquely upward from the front portionof the middle portion 21B, and a rear vertical portion 21C extendingobliquely upward from the rear portion of the middle portion 21. Theextending portion 21 includes, in the frame middle portion 20M, a middlevertical portion 21F extending upward from the mid portion of the middleportion 21B. Additionally, the extending portion 21 includes a side wallextending portion 21D extending rearward from an upper portion of therear vertical portion 21C. The side wall extending portion 21Dconstitutes the side wall 41 (see FIG. 3) of the cargo bed 40. Further,the extending portion 21 has a cargo bed vertically extending portion21E extending upward from the side wall extending portion 21D. Eachportion of the extending portion 21 is formed of a pipe, for example,but it is not necessarily limited thereto. The extending portion 21 maybe an integrally formed member, or the extending portion 21 may beconstituted by plural members (for example, pipes) connected to eachother. For example, the middle portion 21B and the front verticalportion 21A may be one pipe integrally formed, the rear vertical portion21C and the side wall extending portion 21D may be one pipe integrallyformed, and the two pipes are connected to each other by fixing meanssuch as such as welding or bolts.

In the example of the vehicle 1, as shown in FIG. 5A, the frame middleportion 20M includes a bottom 23 between the right and left middleportions 21B. The bottom 23 includes, for example, a bottom panel 23 a,members 23 b extending in the right-left direction and joined to thebottom panel 23 a, members 23 c extending in the front-rear directionand joined to the bottom panel 23 a. The right and left middle portions21B are joined (for example, welded) to the left and right edges of thebottom 23, respectively. The engine unit 7 and the front seat 4 aresupported by the bottom 23. Also, plural cross portions 22A, 22B, 22Cextend between the right and left extending portions 21. The structureof the main body frame 20 and the shape of each portion are not limitedto the example in the vehicle 1. For example, the bottom 23 of the mainbody frame 20 does not necessarily include the bottom panel 23 a.

[Roll Cage]

As shown in FIG. 5B, the roll cage 30 includes right and left frontvertically extending portions 31A, right and left upper extendingportions 31B, right and left rear vertically extending portions 31C, andright and left middle vertically extending portions 31D (See FIG. 5). Asshown in FIG. 4, the front vertically extending portion 31A is locatedforward of the front seat 4 in a side view of the vehicle body andextends in the vertical direction. Specifically, in the example of thevehicle 1, the front vertically extending portion 31A extends obliquelyrearward and upward. The front vertically extending portion 31A isconnected to the front vertical portion 21A of the main body frame 20 byfixing members such as bolts. The upper extending portion 31B is locatedabove the seats 4 and 50 in a side view of the vehicle body and extendsin the front-rear direction. The rear vertically extending portion 31Cextends downward from the rear portion of the upper extending portion31B and is located rearward of at least the front seat 4. In the exampleof the vehicle 1, the rear vertically extending portion 31C is locatedslightly rearward of the rear seat 50. The rear vertically extendingportion 31C may overlap the rear seat 50 (more specifically, the seatback 51 described later) in side view or the vehicle body. The rearvertically extending portion 31C in the example of the vehicle 1 isarranged in the vertical direction in general, but it may be inclined ina forward or backward direction. The rear vertically extending portion31C is connected to the cargo bed vertically extending portion 21E ofthe cargo bed frame 20C, for example, by fixing members such as bolts.The right and left rear vertically extending portions 31C are apart fromeach other in the right-left direction and thus users can load andunload cargo into the cargo bed 40 through the opening caused betweenthe right and left rear vertically extending portions 31C.

The middle vertically extending portion 31D extends downward from a midportion of the upper extending portion 31B and is located between thefront vertically extending portion 31A and the rear vertically extendingportion 31C in a side view of the vehicle body. In the example of thevehicle 1, the middle vertically extending portion 31D overlaps thefront seat 4 (more specifically, the seat back 4 a of the front seat 4)in a side view of the vehicle body (see FIG. 1). The middle verticallyextending portion 31D may be located slightly rearward of the front seat4. The middle vertically extending portion 31D is connected to themiddle vertical portion 21F of the main body frame 20 by fixing memberssuch as bolts, for example.

As shown in FIG. 5B, the roll cage 30 also includes a plurality of crossportions 32A to 32E extending in the right-left direction to connect theright and left extending portions 31A to 31D. In the example of thevehicle 1, three cross portions 32A, 32B, 32C extend between right andleft upper extending portions 31B. A cross portion 32D extends betweenthe right and left rear vertically extending portions 31C. Further, across portion 32E extends between the right and left middle verticallyextending portions 31D. The cross portions 32D and 32E will be describedlater in detail. As shown in FIG. 1, a roof 11 is attached to the rollcage 30 to cover the seats 4 and 60. In detail, the roof 11 is attachedto, for example, the right and left upper extending portions 31B and thecross portions 32A, 32B, and 32C, connected to the upper extendingportions 31B. The roof 11 is made of resin, for example.

In the example of the vehicle 1, the cross portions 32A to 32E areformed separately from, one another, and both ends of each cross portion32A to 32E are connected to the extending portions 31A to 31D by fixingmeans such as welding or bolt. The connection structure of portions ofthe roll cage 30 may be changed. For example, the right and left frontvertically extending portions 31A and the front cross portion 32A may beintegrally formed of single pipe-like member. The right and left middlevertically extending portions 31D and the central cross portion 32B maybe integrally formed, of single pipe-like member. Further, the right andleft rear vertically extending portions and the rear cross portion 32Cmay be integrally formed of single pipe-like member.

[Cargo Bed]

As shown in FIG. 3, the vehicle 1 includes a cargo bed 40 at the rearportion thereof. The cargo bed 40 includes a cargo bed floor 43 (seeFIG. 7) on which cargo is placed. The cargo bed 40 also includes sidewalls 41 located on the right and left sides of the cargo bed floor 43and a rear wall 42 located at the rear edge of the cargo bed floor 43.

The lower portion of the rear vertically extending portion 31C of theroll cage 30 is connected to the cargo bed frame 20C constituting thecargo bed 40. The cargo bed frame 20C includes the side wall extendingportions 21D and the cargo bed vertically extending portions 21Edescribed above. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 7, the cargo bed floor 43 ofthe cargo bed 40 includes an area A1 extending forward beyond the planeP1 defined by the right and left rear vertically extending portions 31C(in other words, the plane P1 is defined as a plane parallel to theright-left direction of the vehicle body and passing through the rightand left rear vertically extending portions 31C.). In the example of thevehicle 1, the cargo bed frame 20C includes the cargo bed verticallyextending portion 21E extending upward from the side wall extendingportion 21D to connect to the rear vertically extending portion 31C ofthe roll cage 30. The area A1 of the cargo bed floor 43 is locatedfurther forward than the connection portion between the side wallextending portion 21D and the cargo bed vertically extending portion 21Eof the cargo bed frame 20C in a side view of the vehicle body. Theconnection structure between the cargo bed frame 20C and the roll cage30 is not limited to the example of the vehicle 1. For example, thelower portion of the rear vertically extending portion 31C of the rollcage 30 may be directly connected to the side wall extending portion 21Dof the cargo bed frame 20C.

In the example of the vehicle 1, the right and left rear seats 50 aredisposed on the cargo bed floor 43. The rear seat 50 includes a seatbottom 52 (see FIG. 7) located in the lower part of the rear seat 50 andincluding an upper surface for the rider to sit on, and a seat back 51standing on the rear side of the seat bottom 52 and including a frontsurface for supporting the back of the rider. The seat bottom 52 isdisposed in the area A1 of the cargo bed floor 43 in a plan view of thevehicle body. The front edge of the seat bottom 52 is located along thefront edge 43 a of the cargo bed floor 43 in a plan view of the vehiclebody. The front edge of the seat bottom 52 may be located slightlyforward of the front edge 43 a of the cargo bed floor 43, andalternatively may be located slightly rearward of the front edge 43 a ofthe cargo bed floor 43. In other words, the entire seat bottom 52 may belocated on the cargo bed floor 43, and alternatively only a part of theseat bottom 52 may be located within the area A1 of the cargo bed floor43.

The rear seat 50 is configured to be movable so as to expand thecapacity of the cargo bed 40. That is, the cargo bed floor 43 includesan area in which the seat bottom 52 is located (an area covered by theseat bottom 52) when the rear seat 50 is in its usable state. The seatis configured to recede from at least a part of the area. As will bedescribed later, in the example of the vehicle 1, guide rails 44extending in the front-rear direction are attached to the area A1 of thecargo bed floor 43 (see FIG. 10). The rear seat 50 (in more detail, theseat back 51) is slidable in the front-rear direction along the guiderails 44. The forward slide of the rear seat 50 increases the capacityof the cargo bed 40. The movement mode of the rear seat 50 is notlimited to the example in the vehicle 1. For example, the seat back 51of the rear seat 50 may be configured to be movable toward the side wall41 of the cargo bed 40. In other words, the seat back 51 may be turnabletoward the side wall 41 of the cargo bed 40. In yet another example, theseat back 51 may be foldable in a forward direction.

As shown in FIG. 7, the cargo bed floor 43 includes an area A2 formedbehind the area A1. That is, the cargo bed floor 43 includes an area A2located rearward of the plane PI defined by the rear verticallyextending portions 31C of the roll cage 30 (hereinafter, the area AI isreferred to as a “front area” and the area A2 is referred to as a “reararea”). In the example of the vehicle 1, the rear area A2 is locatedfurther rearward than the cross portion 32D extending between the rightand left rear vertically extending portions 31C in a plan view of thevehicle body. Also, the rear area A2 is located further rearward thanthe rear seats 50 in a plan view of the vehicle body. Here specifically,the rear area A2 is located further rearward than the rear end (upperend) of the seat backs 51 in the plan view of the vehicle body. Unlike,the example of the vehicle 1, a part of the rear area A2 may overlap theseat backs 51.

As shown in FIG. 7, the right and left rear seats 50 are located apartfrom each other in the right-left direction. Therefore, the front areaA1 includes an area A3 defined between the right and left rear seats 50(hereinafter this area A3 will be referred to as the “middle area”).

The front area A1 (including the middle area A3) and the rear area A2are located at the same height. Therefore, when a rear seat 50 is moved,the front area A1 and the rear area A2 can be used effectively. In otherwords, the structure facilitates easily placing cargo on the cargo bed40. The height of front area A1 and the height of rear area A2 aredifferent.

[Cargo Bed Frame]

As described above, the main body frame 20 includes the frame rearportion 20R connected with arms and a suspension for supporting the rearwheels 3. In the example of the vehicle 1, the cargo bed frame 20C (seeFIG. 4) is forced on the upper side of the frame rear portion 20R. Afloor panel 43F (see FIG. 6) constituting the cargo bed floor 43 isfixed to the upper side of the cargo bed frame 20C. The floor panel 43Fcovers the entire cargo bed frame 20C. The cargo bed frame 20C islocated above the rear wheel 3 in a side view of the vehicle body (seeFIG. 1).

As shown in FIG. 5A, in the example of the vehicle 1, the cargo bedframe 20C includes a plurality of floor support portions 24 extendinglinearly in the front-rear direction. The cargo bed frame 20C includes aplurality of cross portions 22B, 22C, 22E and 22D extending in theright-left direction and fixed to the floor support portions 24.Hereinafter, these cross portions 22B, 22C, 22E and 22D will be referredto as “floor cross portions”. In an example, the plurality of floorcross portions 22B, 22C, 22E, 22D are fixed on the upper side the floorsupport portion 24, and the floor panel 43F is fixed on the floor crossportions 22B, 22C, 22E, 22D. The floor cross portions 22B, 22C, 22E, 22Dare located at the same height. Thus, the height in an area of the cargobed floor 43 where the rear seat 50 is disposed and the height in anarea of the cargo bed floor 43 behind the area where the rear seat 50 isdisposed are the same. That is, the entire cargo bed floor 43 has thesame height.

The floor cross portion 22B is located at the front end of the cargo bedfloor 43 and the floor cross portion 22C is located at the rear end ofthe cargo bed floor 43. The floor cross portions 22E, 22D are arrangedbetween the floor cross portion 22B and the floor cross portion 22C. Theguide rails 44 of the rear seat 50 are supported, for example, toy thefloor cross portion 22B located at the front end and the floor crossportion 22D located between the floor cross portions 22B and 22C (seeFIG. 9).

As shown in FIG. 5A, in the example of the vehicle 1, the floor crossportion 22B at the front end. extends between the right and left rearvertical portions 21C of the stain body frame 20 and fixed to the frontends of the floor support portions 24. The cargo bed frame 20C includesrear end members 21G fixed to the rear ends of the side wall extendingportions 21D constituting the side wall 41 of the cargo bed 40 andextending in the vertical direction. The floor cross portion 22C at therear end extends between the right and left rear end members 21G and isfixed to the rear ends of the floor support portions 24. The structureof the cargo bed frame 20C is not limited to the example of the vehicle1 and may be changed. For example, the floor support portions extendingin the front-rear direction may be fixed on the upper side of theplurality of floor cross portions. In addition, the floor panel 43F maybe fixed to the floor support portions.

[Rear Cross Portion of Roll Cage]

As described above, both end portions 32 c of the cross portion 32Dlocated at the rear end of the roll cage 30 are connected to the rightand left rear vertically extending portions 31C. As shown in FIG. 2, thecross portion 32D is formed such that its middle portion 32 a ispositioned higher than the end portions 32 c. When an operator putscargo onto the front area A1 located forward of the plane P1, thestructure described above prevents the cross portion 32D from being anobstruction.

As described above, in the example of the vehicle 1, the right and leftrear seats 50 are apart from each other in the right-left direction, andthe middle area A3 (see FIG. 7) for cargo is secured between the rightand left rear seats 50. In detail, the middle is secured between theright and left seat bottoms 52. The middle area A3 located forward ofthe middle portion 32 a of the cross portion 32D in a plan view of thevehicle body. Since the middle portion 32 a of the cross portion 32D ishigher than the end portions 32 c, the cross portion 32D is preventedfrom being an obstruction when an operator puts cargo onto the middlearea A3.

As shown in FIG. 2, in the example of the vehicle 1, the cross portion32D includes lateral portions 32 b located behind the seat backs 51 ofthe right and left rear seats 50. This allows the seat back 51 to besupported by the lateral portion 32 b. For example, when a force acts onthe seat back 51 in the front-rear direction during running of thevehicle, the lateral portion 32 b prevents the seat back 51 from beinggreatly inclined rearward. In a normal state in which no backward forceis applied to the seat back 51, a clearance may be secured between thelateral portion 32 b and the seat back 51, or alternatively the lateralportion 32 b may be in contact with the seat back 51.

In the example of the vehicle 1, the seat back 51 is configured tosupport the rear side of the head of the rider. That is, as shown inFIG. 2, the seat back 51 includes a lower portion 51 a that supports theback of a rider and an upper portion 51 b having a smaller width in theright-left direction than the lower portion 51 a (hereinafter, the lowerportion 51 a is referred to as a “back rest portion”, and the upperportion Sib is referred to as a “head rest”.). The head of the rider canbe supported by the head rest 51 b. The lateral portion 32 b of thecross portion 32D is located behind the head rest 51 b of the seat back51. Therefore, the lateral portion 32 b of the cross portion 32D ispositioned high, and thus when an operator puts cargo onto the rear sideof the rear seat 50, the cross portion 32D is prevented from being anobstruction.

As shown in FIG. 2, the middle portion 32 a of the cross portion 32D islocated higher than the lateral portions 32 b. The middle portion 32 aof the cross portion 32D is located between the right and left seatbacks 51 in the rear view of the vehicle body. In the example of thevehicle 1, the middle portion 32 a linearly extends in the right-leftdirection in a rear view of the vehicle body. This shape of the crossportion 32D effectively prevents the cross portion 32D from being anobstacle when putting cargo onto the area between the right and leftrear seats 50.

As shown in FIG. 2, the end pert ions 32 c of the cross portion 32D arepositioned higher than the back rest portion 51 a. Therefore, the crossportion 32D is prevented from being an obstacle when an operator putscargo onto the rear side of the seat 50. As described above, in theexample of the vehicle 1, the rear seats 50 are configured to beslidable in a forward direction. Therefore, the cross portion 32D isprevented from being an obstacle when an operator puts cargo onto anarea formed by sliding the rear seats 50.

The lateral portion 32 b of the cross portion 32D linearly extends inthe right-left direction in the rear view of the vehicle body. Accordingto this shape of the cross portion 32D, a force equally acts from theseat back 51 to the lateral portion 32 b and thus the seat back 51 canbe stably supported by the lateral portion 32 b. As described here, thecross portion 32D in the example of the vehicle 1 includes the lateralportions 32 b linearly extending in the right-left direction and themiddle portion 32 a linearly extending in the right-left direction. Theend of the lateral portion 32 b is bent up toward the middle portion 32a.

The shape and the position of the cross portion 32D is not limited tothe example in the vehicle 1. For example, the lateral portions 32 b andthe middle portion 32 a may not extend linearly. That is, the whole ofthe cross portion 32D may be curved such that the middle portion 32 a ispositioned higher than the end portion 32 c. Also, the lateral portion32 b and the end portion 32 c of the cross portion 32D may be locatedbehind the back rest portion 51 a.

[Front Cross Portion of Roll Cage]

As shown in FIG. 5B, the roll cage 30 includes a cross portion 32Elocated forward of the cross portion 32D and lower than the crossportion 32B. In the example of the vehicle 1, both ends 32 e of thecross portion 32E are connected to the right and left middle verticallyextending portion 31D. The cross portion 32E improves the rigidity ofthe roll cage 30.

As shown in FIG. 3, the cross portion 32E is located behind the rightand left front seats 4. More specifically, the cross portion 32Eincludes lateral portions 32 f located behind the seat backs 4 a of theright and left front seats 4. The seat back 4 a is supported by thelateral portion 32 f. For example, when a force acts on the seat back 4a in the front-rear direction during running of the vehicle, the lateralportion 32 f prevents the seat back 4 a from being reclined greatly. Inthe normal state in which the rearward force is not applied to the seatback 4 a, a clearance may be made between the lateral portion 32 f andthe seat back 4 a, or alternatively the lateral portion 32 f may be incontact with the seat back 4 a.

As shown in FIG. 2, the middle portion 32 g, of the cross portion 32Elocated behind the front seat 4, is positioned between the right andleft front seats 4 in the rear view of the vehicle. The middle portion32 g is located at a different height than the end portions 32 e of thecross portion 32E. In more detail, the middle portion 32 g is located ata different height than the lateral portions 32 f. This prevents themiddle portion 32 g of the cross portion 32B from being an obstacle to afield of view of a rider sitting on the rear seat 50. In the example ofthe vehicle 1, the middle portion 32 g is located lower than the lateralportion 32 f. Unlike the example of the vehicle 1, the middle portion 32g of the cross portion 32E may be located higher than the lateralportion 32 f, similar to the middle portion 32 a of the cross portion32D located behind the rear seats 50.

As shown in FIG. 5B, in the example of the vehicle If the roll cage 30includes a grab bar 34 located under the cross portion 32E and connectedto the right and left middle vertically extending portions 31D. A ridersitting on the rear seat 50 may grab the grab bar 34. In the example ofthe vehicle 1, the middle portion of the grab bar 34 is located underthe middle portion 32 g of the cross portion 32E and is fixed to themiddle portion 32 g of the cross portion 32E. According to thisstructure, the grab bar 34 can be reinforced by the cross portion 32Eeven when a member having a lower rigidity than the cross portion 32E(for example, a member thinner than the cross portion 32E) is used asthe grab bar 34. The grab bar 34 is located below the lateral portions32 f of the cross portion 32E. The structure of the grab bar 34 and thecross portion 32E is not limited to the example above, of the vehicle 1.In another example, the grab bar 34 is not necessarily fixed to thecross portion 32E. In yet another example, the roll cage 30 does notnecessarily induce the grab bar 34.

[Connection Between Cargo Bed Frame and Roll Cage]

The main body frame 20 includes the rear vertical portions 21C (see FIG.5A) extending obliquely rearward and upward from the rear portion of themiddle portion 21B of the frame middle portion 20M. As shown in FIG. 1,in the example of the vehicle 1, the rear vertically extending portion31C of the roll cage 30 is located further rearward than the upperportion of the rear vertical portion 21C of the main body frame 20. Inother words, the rear vertically extending portion 31C of the roll cage30 is located rearward of the front end of the side wall extendingportion 21D constituting the side wall 41 of the cargo bed 40. Thearrangement of the rear vertically extending portion 31C makes the rearvertically extending portion 31C closer to a vertical orientation ascompared with an arrangement in which the rear vertically extendingportion 31C is connected to the rear vertical portion 21C. As a result,the vertical force tends to act axially on the rear vertically extendingportion 31C. When the rear seat 50 is slid forward, the seat back 51 islocated forward, away from the rear vertically extending portion 31C ina side view of the vehicle body. As shown in FIG. 1, the vehicle 1 maybe provided with a side guard 12 located on the lateral side of the rearseats 50.

As shown in FIG. 4, the cargo bed frame 20C protrudes rearward from theframe rear portion 20R supporting the rear wheels 3. As shown in FIG. 6,the rear vertically extending portion 31C of the roll cage 30 isconnected to the cargo bed frame 20C at a position forward of the rearend of the cargo bed frame 20C. In the example of the vehicle 1, therear vertically extending portion 31C of the roll cage 30 is connectedto the cargo bed frame 20C at a position forward of the rear end of thefloor support portion 24 supporting the cargo bed floor 43. Thus, therear vertically extending portion 31C and the frame rear portion 20R areclose to each other in the front-rear direction. That increases thestrength of the cargo bed frame 20C with respect to the vertical forceacting on the roll cage 30. Also, since the rear vertically extendingportion 31C of the roll cage 30 is connected to the cargo bed frame 20Cat a position forward of the rear end of the floor support portion 24,the rear area A2 located behind the plane P1 described above is surlysecured in the cargo bed floor 43.

In the example of the vehicle 1, the cargo bed frame 20C includes acargo bed vertically extending portion 21E located further forward thanthe rear end of the floor support portion 24 and extends upward from theside wall extending portion 21D. The rear vertically extending portion31C of the roll cage 30 is connected to the cargo bed verticallyextending portion 21E. The connecting structure between the cargo bedframe 20C and the rear vertically extending portion 31C of the roll cage30 is not limited to the example of the vehicle 1. For example, the rearvertically extending portion 31C may be directly connected to the sidewall extending portion 21D.

As shown in FIG. 6, in the example of the vehicle 1, the cargo bed frame20C includes rear end members 21G at the rear ends thereof. The rear endmember 21G extends in the vertical direction and connects the rear endof the side wall extending portion 21D, the cargo bed verticallyextending portion 21E, and the floor support portion 24. This structureimproves, for example, the strength of the rear portion of the cargo bedframe 20C. As shown in FIG. 6, the rear end member 21G is provided witha rear wall support portion 21H further protruding rearward from therear end member 21G. The right end and the left ends of the rear wall 42of the cargo bed 40 are fixed to the rear wall support portions 21H,respectively. Therefore, the rear wall 42 is located further rearwardthan the cargo bed vertically extending portion 21E of the cargo bedframe 20C or the rear vertically extending portion 31C of the roll cage30. As a result, the capacity of cargo bed 40 can be increased.

[Rear Seat]

The rear seat 50 is movable to a state in which the rider is allowed tosit on the rear seat 50 and a state in which the rider is not allowed tosit thereon. In the following description, the state in which the rideris allowed to sit on the rear seat 50 is referred to as the “usablestate”, and the state in which the rider is not allowed to sit thereonis referred to as the “unusable state”. When the rear seat 50 is in the“usable state”, as shown in FIG. 6, the seat bottom is located on thecargo bed floor 43, the seat surface 52 a of the seat bottom 52 racesupward, and the seat back 51 is located in a standing position on therear side of the seat bottom 52. The “unusable state” means a state inwhich at least one of the position and the orientation of the seatbottom 52 changes from the position and the orientation thereof In theusable state and the seat back 51 moves forward so that the rider is notallowed to sit on the rear seat 50. In the example of the vehicle 1,when the area in which the seat bottom 52 of the rear seat 50 in theusable state is disposed is defined as a seat bottom area A4 (see FIG.6) the lower end L of the seat back 51 (in other words, the lower end ofthe seat frame 53 to be described later) moves to a front portion of theseat bottom area A4 when the rear seat 56 is in the unusable state (seeFIG. 11).

As shown in FIG. 10, the cargo bed floor 43 is provided with guide rails44. In the example of the vehicle 1, the guide rails 44 are disposed onthe floor panel 43F constituting the cargo bed floor 43. The guide rails44 are then fixed to the cargo bed frame 20C located below the floorpanel 43F by fixing members such as screws or bolts. In the example ofthe vehicle 1, two guide rails 44 are arranged in parallel for each rearseat 50. As shown in FIG. 8, the rear seat 50 includes the seat frame 53attached to the guide rails 44. The seat frame 53 is slidable in thefront-rear direction along the guide rails 44 (see FIG. 10). In theexample of the vehicle 1, the seat frame 53 includes the guided portions53 b, 53 c mounted on the guide rail 44 and slidable along the guiderails 44. The guided portion 53 b is located outside the guide rails 44.

As shown in FIG. 8, in the example of the vehicle 1, the seat frame 53is fixed to the seat back 51. Therefore, the seat back 51 is allowed tomove in the front-rear direction. Specifically, the seat back 51 isallowed to translate .in the front-rear direction. This can increase thecapacity of the cargo bed 40 while preventing the vehicle from becominglarger in the front-rear direction. That is, the forward movement of theseat back 51 places the rear seat 50 in the unusable state and enlargesthe rear cargo area of the rear seat 50. In the example of the vehicle1, the seat frame 53 includes a support rod 53 a extending upwardly fromthe guided portions 53 b, 53 c and fixed to the seat back 51. Thesupport rod 53 a is fixed to the back of the seat back 51, for example.Further, as shown in FIG. 8, the support rod 53 a may be connected tothe right and left guided portions 53 b and 53 c. The structure of theseat frame 53 and the fixing structure between the seat frame 53 and theseat back 51 are not limited to the example shown for the vehicle 1 andmay be changed.

As shown in FIG. 8, in the example of the vehicle 1, the seat bottom 52is not fixed to the seat frame 53 and thus is configured to moveindependently of the seat back 51. In the example of the vehicle 1, theseat bottom 52 is laid on the guide rail 44 when the rear seat 50 is inthe usable state (see FIG. 6) and is in a standing position when therear seat 50 is in the unusable state (see FIGS. 8 and 11). Unlike theexample of the vehicle 1, the seat bottom 52 may also be configured tobe slidable in the from rear direction together with the seat back 51.In this case, the seat frame 53 may be fixed to the seat bottom 52. Inyet another example, the seat frame 53 may be fixed to the seat back 51and the seat bottom 52 may be fixed to the seat back 51.

A conventional structure that the rear seat is foldable and the foldedseat back is used as the cargo bed floor reduces the freedom in theshape and the site of the seat back. Specifically, in this structure,the seat back needs to be rectangular, limiting space for a head rest.The structure in vehicle 1 in which the forward movement of the seatback 51 expands the capacity of the cargo bed 40 can increase thefreedom of the shape and the size of the seat back 51. In the example ofthe vehicle 1, the seat back 51 includes, in the upper part of the seatback 51, the head rest 51 b having a smaller width than that of the backrest portion 51 a. In addition, the seat back 51 is curved such that theedge portions 51 e in the right-left direction are located furtherforward than the middle portion 51 f. The seat frame 53 is fixed, forexample, to the back of the middle portion 51 f of the seat back 51.

The seat back 51 includes a cushion portion 51 c (see FIG. 7) on thefront surface thereof. The structure in the vehicle 1 in which theforward movement of the seat back 51 expands the capacity of the cargobed 40, prevents cargo in the cargo bed floor 43 from soiling the-cushion portion Sic when the seat back SI moves forward as shown inFIG. 10.

The seat frame 53 includes a locking mechanism 54 for fixing theposition of the seat frame 53 in the usable state and in the unusablestate. The position of the seat frame 53 in the usable state ishereinafter referred to as the “rear end position”. The position of theseat frame 53 in the unusable state is hereinafter referred, to as the“front end position”. As shown in FIG. 8, in the example of the vehicle1, a front rod 45A is located between the front portions of the rightand left guide rails 44 and is fixed to the upper side of the cargo bedfloor 43. Also, a rear rod 45B (see FIG. 10) is located between the rearportions of the right and left guide rails 44 and is fixed on the upperside of the cargo bed floor 43. The locking mechanism 54 includes a hookthat is caught on the rods 45A and 45B to fix the position of the seatframe 53 and an operating member for the operator to release theengagement between the hook and the rods 45A and 45B. When the hook iscaught on the rear rod 45B, the seat frame 53 is fixed to the rear endposition shown in FIG. 6. When the hook of the lock mechanism 54 iscaught on the front rod 45A, the seat frame 53 is fixed to the front endposition shown in FIG. 11. When the engagements between the hook and therods 45A, and 45B are released by operating the operating member of thelock mechanism 45, the seat frame 53 is allowed to slide forward orrearward. In an example, the seat frame 53 is allowed to be fixed onlyat these two positions and is not allowed to be fixed at a middleposition. The structure of the lock mechanism 54 may be changed as longas the seat frame 53 is allowed to be fixed to the rear end position andthe front end position.

[Fixing Structure Between Cargo Bed Frame and Guide Rail]

As mentioned above, the guide rails 44 are fixed to the cargo bed frame20C. As shown in FIG. 9, the cargo bed frame 20C includes the right andleft floor support portions 24 and the floor cross portions 22B and 22Dfixed to the right and left floor support portions 24. The floor crossportion 22D is spaced away from the floor cross portion 22B. The guiderails 44 extends between the floor cross portions 22B and 22D. The frontend and the rear end of the guide rails 44 are fixed to the floor crossportions 22B and 22D, respectively.

As described above, both ends of the floor cross portion 22B arerespectively connected to the extending portions 21 provided at theright end and the left end of the main body frame 20. As shown in FIG.5A, in the example of the vehicle 1, both ends of the floor crossportion 22B are connected to the rear vertical portions 21C of the mainbody frame 20. Accordingly, the floor cross portion 22B improves thestrength for supporting the rear seat 50. In the example of the vehicle1, both ends of the rear floor cross portion 22D are not connected tothe extending portion 21 of the main body frame 20. Alternatively, bothends of the floor cross portion 22D may be connected to, for example,side wall extending portions 21D, each constituting a portion of theextending portion 21 via a bracket extending in the vertical direction.As shown in FIG. 9, the floor support portions 24 extend rearward beyondthe floor cross portion 22D and the rear ends of the guide rails 44.This allows the cargo bed floor 43 to include the rear area A2 locatedbehind the rear ends of the guide rails 44. The length in the front-reardirection of the area where the guide rails 44 are located is largerthan, the length in the front-rear direction of the rear area A2.

FIG. 12 is a cross-sectional view taken along a line XII-XII shown inFIG. 7. FIG. 13 is a cross-sectional view taken along a line XIII-XIIIshown in FIG. 10. As shown in FIG. 13, the floor panel 43F has aplurality of concave portions 43 b and a plurality of convex portions 43c each extending in the front-rear direction and aligned in theright-left direction (the concave portions 43 b and the convex portions43 c are not shown in FIG. 7 and FIG. 10). As shown in FIG. 12, aplurality of ribs 43 d are formed on the lower surface of the floorpanel 43F and aligned in the front-rear direction. The concave portions43 b, the convex portions 43 c, and the ribs 43 d improve the rigidityof the floor panel 43F. In the example of the vehicle 1, the ribs 43 dare formed on the lower side of the convex portions 43 c.

The guide rails 44 fit into the concave portions 43 b and the convexportions 43 c. When the rear seat 50 is in the unusable state and cargois placed behind the rear seat 50, this structure prevents the guiderails 44 from interfering with the cargo. In the example of the vehicle1, as shown in FIG. 13, the guide rail 44 is located inside a concaveportion 43 b. The guide rail 44 includes a bottom portion 44 a, sidewalls 44 b, and a flange 44 c, The bottom port ion 44 a is fixed to thebottom of the concave portion 43 b. The guided portion 53 b of the seatframe 53 is caught in the flange 44 c. The shape of the guide rail 44 isnot limited to the example in the vehicle 1. For example, the guide rail44 may be formed so as to cover a convex portion 43 c.

As described above, the cargo bed floor 43 includes the rear area A3located behind the rear ends of the guide rails 44. The concave portions43 b, the convex portions 43 c, and the ribs 43 d are formed in the reararea A3. That is, the concave portions 43 b and the convex portions 43 cextend rearward beyond the rear ends of the guide rails 44.

[Seat Bottom]

As described above, the seat bottom 52 in the example of the vehicle 1is allowed to move independently of the seat back 51. In the example ofthe vehicle 1, the seat bottom 52 is arranged at the standing positionwhen the rear seat 50 is in the unusable state (see FIG. 8). Morespecifically, the seat bottom 52 is arranged such that its lower surfaceis substantially vertical. This structure enables the range of movementof the seat back 51 to easily increase in the front-rear direction.

The area A4 shown in FIG. 6 is an area where the seat bottom 52 islocated when the rear seat 50 is in the usable state (this area A4 isHereinafter referred to as the “seat bottom area”). The seat bottom areaA4 is a range defined by the front edge 52 c and the rear edge 52 b ofthe seat bottom 52. When the rear seat 50 is in the usable state, thelower end L of the seat back 51 is located further rearward than theseat bottom area A4. As shown in FIG. 11, when the rear seat 50 is inthe unusable state, the seat bottom 52 recedes from the seat bottom areaA4 and then the lower end L of the seat back 51 is located in the seatbottom area A4.

In the example of the vehicle 1, as shown in FIG. 11, when the rear seat50 is in the unusable state, the lower end L of the seat back 51 movesto the front half area within, the seat bottom, area A4. The front halfarea of the seat bottom area A4 means an area defined further forwardthan the center C1 in the front-rear direction of the seat bottom areaA4. That is, the lower end L of the seat back 51 moves forward beyondthe center C1 of the seat bottom area A4 in the front-rear direction. Asdescribed here, a large movable range is secured for the seat back 51 inthe example of the vehicle 1. The movable range of the seat back 51 isnot limited to the example of the vehicle 1. That is, the lower end L ofthe seat back 51 may be located rearward of the center C1 when the rearseat 50 is in the unusable state.

As shown in FIG. 10, in the example of the vehicle 1, the rear ends ofthe guide rails 44 are located further rearward than the center C2 inthe front-rear direction of the cargo bed floor 43. When the rear seat50 is in the usable state, the lower end L of the seat back 51 islocated in an area defined behind the center C2 of the cargo bed floor43. The front ends of the guide rails 44 are located further forwardthan the center C2 of the cargo bed floor 43. Therefore, when the rearseat 50 is in the unusable state, the lower end L of the seat back 51 islocated in the area ahead of the center C2 of the cargo bed floor 43.Unlike the vehicle 1, if the length of the cargo bed floor 43 in thefront-rear direction is sufficiently large, the lower end L of the seatback 51 may be located further forward than the center C2 of the cargobed floor 43 even when the rear seat 50 is in the

In the example of the vehicle 1, as shown in FIG. 11, when the rear seat50 is in the unusable stats, the seat bottom 52 and the seat back 51partially overlap in a side view of the vehicle body. Specifically, thebottom surface of the seat bottom 52 is positioned between the edges 51e in the right-left direction of the seat back 51, and at least thefront ends of the edges 51 e overlap with the seat bottom 52 (in thisdescription, the “bottom surface” of the seat bottom 52 means a surfacethat faces downward when the rear seat 50 is in the usable state).Unlike the example of the vehicle 1, the edges 51 e of the seat back 51may be located behind the seat bottom 52 when the rear seat 50 is in theunusable state.

In the example of the vehicle 1, when the rear seat 50 is in theunusable state, the seat bottom 52 is arranged at the standing positionand the seat surface 52 a of the seat bottom 52 faces forward. Thisorientation of the seat back 51 prevents cargo placed on the cargo bedfloor 43 from soiling the seat surface 52 a when the rear seat 50 is inthe unusable state. Also, when the rear seat 50 is in the unusablestate, the seat back 51 supported by the seat frame 53 is located behindthe seat bottom 52. As a result, the seat back 51 prevents a large forcefrom being applied to the the seat bottom 52 from cargo placed on thecargo bed floor 43. More specifically, the seat back 51 prevents a largeforce from being applied to the support mechanism (a pivot shaft 46 aand brackets 46A, 46B connected to the pivot shaft 46 a) of the seatbottom 52.

As shown in FIG. 11, when the rear seat 50 is in the unusable state, atleast a part of the seat bottom 52 is located further forward than thecargo bed floor 43. More specifically, at least a part of the seatbottom 52 is located further forward than the front edge 43 a of thecargo bed floor 43. As a result, when the rear seat 50 is in theunusable state, the arrangement of the seat bottom 52 effectivelyutilizes the space secured between the cargo bed 40 and the front seat 4(this space is for the rider to put his legs). This structure enablesthe seat back 51 to have a large movable range thereof. As shown in FIG.10. In the example of the vehicle 1, when the rear seat 50 is in theunusable state, the side surface 52 d of the seat bottom 52 is locatedfurther forward than the front edge 43 a of the cargo bed floor 43.

As shown in FIG. 11, in the example of the vehicle 1, when the rear seat50 is in the unusable state, the side surface 52 d of the seat bottom 52is located further forward than the bent portion between the rearvertical portion 21C and the side wall extending portion 21D of the mainbody frame 20. More specifically, when the rear seat 50 is in theunusable state, the entire seat bottom 52 is located further forwardthan the bent portion between the rear vertical portion 21C and the sidewall extending portion 21D.

As described above, the seat bottom 52 is allowed to move to thestanding position at which the seat bottom 52 is arranged in theunusable state of the rear seat 50 and to a laid position (a positionshown in FIG. 6) at which the seat bottom 52 is arranged in the usablestate of the rear seat 50. In the example of the vehicle 1, the lowersurface of the seat bottom 52 is supported by the guide rails 44 whenthe seat bottom 52 is in the laid position. That is, the lower surfaceof the seat bottom 52 is in contact with the upper surface of the guiderails 44. This structure does not employ a dedicated member forsupporting the seat bottom 52. Therefore, this structure avoids anincrease in the number of components (parts) while increasing thesupport strength of the seat bottom 52.

As shown in FIG. 8, in the example of the vehicle 1, the seat bottom 52is supported by a hinge mechanism and thus is movable to the standingposition and the laid position around the pivot shaft 46 a of the hingemechanism. The pivot shaft 46 a is supported at the foremost position ofthe cargo bed frame 20C. When the seat bottom 52 is in the standingposition, the structure described above enables a large area to besecured behind the seat bottom 52, that is, to be secured for the seatback 51.

As described above, the cargo bed frame 20C in the example of thevehicle 1 includes a floor cross portion 22B (see FIG. 9) located at theforemost position of the cargo bed frame 20C. As shown in FIG. 6, thepivot shaft 46 a is attached to the floor cross portion 22B via abracket 46A. The bracket 46A is attached to the front surface of thefloor cross portion 22B. This arrangement of the bracket 46A enables theseat bottom 52 in the standing position to be located closer to thefront seat 4.

As shown in FIG. 8, the seat bottom 52 is connected to the pivot shaft46 a via a bracket 46B. The bracket 46B is attached to, for example, thebottom surface of the seat bottom 52. When the rear seat 50 is in theusable state, the pivot shaft 46 a is located further forward than thefront edge 52 c of the seat bottom 52 (see FIG. 6). This arrangementenables the seat bottom 52 in the standing position to be located closerto the front seat 4. The position and the support structure of the pivotshaft 46 a is not limited to the example of the vehicle 1 and may bechanged.

The movement of the seat bottom 52 and the orientation and the positionof the seat back 51 in the unusable state are hot limited to the exampleof the vehicle 1. For example, the seat bottom 52 and the seat back 51may be configured to move integrally in the front-rear direction. Inthis case, when the rear seat 50 is in the unusable state, the seatbottom 52 may be placed in the laid position and most of the seat bottom52 may be located further forward than the front edge 43 a of the cargobed floor 43. As a result, the seat back 51 may he located in the fronthalf area of the seat bottom A4.

In yet another example, when the rear seat 50 is in the unusable state,the seat bottom 52 maybe configured to stand along the side wall 41 ofthe cargo bed 40 and the seat bottom 52 may be located in the front halfarea of the seat bottom area A4.

In yet another example, a hinge mechanism that allows movement of theseat bottom 52 may be arranged in the rear portion of the seat bottom52. In addition, the seat bottom 52 may be connected to the seat back 51via the hinge mechanism. In this structure, the seat bottom 52 rotatesso that the rear end of the seat bottom 52 goes under the seat bottom52, and the rotation moves the seat bottom 52 to the standing position.In this case, the seat back 51 and the seat bottom 52 may be integrallymoved in the front-rear direction.

As described above, the roll cage 30 includes a cross portion 32D (seeFIG. 5B) extending between the right and left rear vertically extendingportions 31C. As shown in FIG. 2, when the rear seats 50 are in theusable state, the cross portion 32D is located behind the seat backs 51to support the seat backs 51. In the example of the vehicle 1, when therear seats 50 are in the usable state, the lateral portions 32 b of thecross portion 32D are located behind the head rests 51 b, each of whichis the upper portion of the seat back 51, and support the head rests 51b. When the rear seat 50 is in the usable state and no force is appliedto the seat back 51 in the rearward direction, a clearance may be madebetween the lateral portion 32 b of the cross portion 32D and the headrest 51 b, or alternatively the lateral portion 32 b may be in contactwith the head rest 51 b.

[Seat Belt Mechanism]

The rear seat 50 is provided with a seat belt mechanism. As shown inFIG. 3, the seat belt mechanism includes a retractor 56 b foraccommodating a part of the belt to adjust the length of the belt. Inthe example of the vehicle 1, the retractor 56 b is located below thecross portion 32D and is attached to the rear vertically extendingportion 31C of the roll cage 30 (see FIG. 5B). The seat belt mechanismalso includes a guide anchor 56 a for guiding the belt extending out ofthe retractor 56 b. In the example of the vehicle 1, the guide anchor 56a is attached to the cross portion 32D. Specifically, the guide anchor56 a is attached to the end of the cross portion 32D. The belt extendsfrom the retractor 56 b toward the guide anchor 56 a and then extendsdownward from the guide anchor 56 a. Employing the cross portion 32D asa member for supporting the guide anchor 56 a contributes to a reductionin the number of components (parts).

As shown in FIG. 7, the cargo bed floor 43 is provided with buckles 56d. When using the seat belt mechanism, a joint (tongue plate) providedto the belt extending from the guide anchor 56 a is connected to thebuckle 56 d. The Buckles 56 d are located between the right and leftrear seats 50. As shown in FIG. 5A, the end of the buckle 56 d is fixedto the cargo bed frame 20C, for example. In the example of the vehicle1, the end of the buckle 56 d is fixed to the floor cross portion 22Ebridged over the floor support portions 24.

The cargo bed floor 43 has an accommodating portion formed thereon foraccommodating the buckles 56 d. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 12, arecess 43 e is formed in the floor panel 43F constituting the cargo bedfloor 43 and functions as the accommodating portion for accommodatingthe buckles 56 d. A lid 43 f for closing the recess 43 e is attached tothe cargo bed floor 43. The upper surface of the lid 43 f is located atthe same height as the floor panel 43F in a state in which the lid 43 fcloses the recess 43 e.

The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments.It is obvious to those skilled in the art that there are otherembodiments that can obtain similar functions and results. The claimscover the substantially equivalent other embodiments.

What is claimed is:
 1. A vehicle comprising: right and left frontwheels; right and left rear wheels; a body frame; right and left frontseats mounted on the body frame; a cargo bed located rearward of theright and left front seats; a guide rail disposed on the cargo bed; anda rear seat including a seat frame that is attached on the guide railand is slidable in a front-rear direction along the guide rail.
 2. Thevehicle according to claim 1, wherein the rear seat includes a seatbottom located in a bottom of the rear seat and a seat back located on arear side of the seat bottom, and at least the seat back is fixed to theseat frame and slidable in the front-rear direction.
 3. The vehicleaccording to claim 2, wherein the seat bottom is independently movablewith respect to the seat back.
 4. The vehicle according to claim 3,wherein the seat bottom is movable to a laid position at which the seat,bottom allows a rider to sit thereon and is further movable to astanding position at which the seat bottom does not allow the rider tosit thereon.
 5. The vehicle according to claim 4, wherein when the seatbottom is at the standing position, a seat surface of the seat bottomfaces forward.
 6. The vehicle according to claim 1, wherein the rearseat includes a seat bottom located in a bottom of the rear seat and aseat back located on a rear side of the seat bottom, the seat bottom islocated in a space defined forward of the cargo bed in a state where therear seat does not allow a rider to sit thereon.
 7. The vehicleaccording to claim 3, wherein the seat bottom is movable around a pivotshaft to a laid position and to a standing position.
 8. The vehicleaccording to claim 7, wherein the pivot shaft is located at a front endof the cargo bed.
 9. The vehicle according to claim 3, wherein when theseat bottom is in a laid position at which the seat bottom allows arider to sit thereon, the seat bottom is located on the guide rail. 10.The vehicle according to claim 2, wherein the seat back Includes a backrest portion which is a lower portion of the seat back for supporting arider's back, and includes a head rest portion which is an upper portionof the seat back for supporting the rider's head, and both of the headrest portion and the back rest portion are integrally movable in thefront-rear direction along the guide rail.
 11. The vehicle according toclaim 1, wherein the rear seat is movable to a first state, in which therear seat allows a rider to sit thereon, and the rear seat is movable toa second state, in which the rear seat does not allow the rider to sitthereon, and when an area in which the seat bottom is located, when therear seat is in the first state, is defined as a seat bottom area, atleast a part of the seat back may be located in a front part of the seatbottom area in a state where the rear seat is in the second state. 12.The vehicle according to claim 1, wherein the rear seat includes a seatbottom located in a bottom of the rear seat and a seat back located on arear side of the seat bottom, and a cross portion is located behind theseat back.
 13. The vehicle according to claim 13, wherein the rear seatis provided with a seat belt mechanism including a belt, and a guideanchor that guides the belt is attached to the cross portion.
 14. Thevehicle according to claim 1, wherein the rear seat is provided with aseat belt mechanism including a belt and a joint provided to the belt,and the rear seat is further provided with a buckle for the joint to beconnected, and the cargo bed has an accommodating portion thataccommodates the buckle.
 15. The vehicle according to claim 14, whereinthe accommodating portion is concave, and the cargo bed includes a lidfor closing the accommodating portion.
 16. The vehicle according toclaim 1, wherein the cargo bed includes a cargo bed floor that has aconvex portion and a concave portion, each extending in the front-reardirection, and the guide rail fits into the concave portion or theconvex portion.
 17. The vehicle according to clam 16, wherein theconcave portion and the convex portion extend rearward beyond the guiderail.
 18. The vehicle according to claim 1, further comprising a rollcage covering the front and the rear seat, wherein the roll cageincludes a portion located further rearward than the rear seat.
 19. Thevehicle according to claim 18, wherein the cargo bed includes a portionlocated further rearward than the portion of the roll cage.